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Connor Murphy was a healthy scratch for the Blackhawks on Sunday against Edmonton.

Murphy has been scratched four times this season, but Sunday was the first time since Oct. 28. He was out to give Jan Rutta, who had been in the press box for four games, a chance to play again. Jan 8 - 11:29 AM

Murphy has collected four assists in his last six games. That's notable because he has only five points in 25 games this season. Murphy still isn't worth picking up at this time, but he could be worth keeping an eye on if his recent hot streak continues. Thu, Dec 7, 2017 10:24:00 AM

Connor Murphy's mother wasn't shy in telling her son that she thought he was drifting back to his more natural right side during games.

"She was telling me to stop drifting over to the right side," Murphy said with a laugh. "And my mom, nothing against her, but she doesn’t know a lot about hockey. It’s pretty funny that she noticed that. So I guess I was drifting a little bit." Despite his mother's claims, Murphy has adapted quite well to the switch, something not many defensemen are able to do. "It hasn’t been as bad as I thought it was going to be," Murphy said. "It’s not as awkward as I thought. You just get in the flow of it. You carry over a lot of the same concepts of defending your position on the right side, and sometimes it ends up feeling a little easier to defend in certain ways. At the end of the day, it’s still defending, and it’s still just playing hockey." After playing a season high of 17:35 against the Rangers on Wednesday, the Blackhawks cut his minutes to 11:14 yesterday against the Penguins. The 24-year-old is a former first round pick but has so far failed to Sun, Nov 19, 2017 10:04:00 AM

Connor Murphy scored a goal in Thursday's 3-1 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers.

Murphy got the Blackhawks on the board at the 16:14 mark of the second period to cut his team's deficit to 3-1, but that's as close as they'd come to tying the game. The goal was Murphy's first as a member of the Chicago Blackhawks. He now has one point in 13 games in 2017-18. Lance Bouma and Jan Rutta registered the assists on Chicago's only goal. Thu, Nov 9, 2017 09:51:00 PM

Depth Charts

Jonathan Toews posted a goal and two assists in a 7-1 win over the Washington Capitals on Saturday night.

Toews registered his second three-point effort of the season Saturday, scoring the opening goal of the game before assisting on Brandon Saad and Patrick Kane's goals in the victory. Toews now has 16 goals and 40 points in 59 games this season.

Nick Schmaltz has 22 points, including 11 goals, over his last 23 contests.

Schmaltz was limited to 28 points as a rookie, but he's up to 37 points in 47 contests in his sophomore campaign. A big part of that jump is a byproduct of getting an opportunity to play a bigger role. Last season he averaged just 13:16 minutes per game, but in 2017-18 he's logging 18:39 minutes and has commonly played alongside Patrick Kane. As long as that continues to be the case, Schmaltz should have significant value in standard fantasy leagues.

Artem Anisimov has been promoted to the Blackhawks second line with Patrick Kane and Nick Schmaltz.

Anisimov is taking Brandon Saad, who's struggled for most of the season, on that line. "He’s got the willingness, but he’s got the art, as well," head coach Joel Quenneville said. "He’s got a quick stick. His positioning is good, whether he’s tipping pucks or finding them. He’s got a real good knack about it. He’s got a quality opportunity not just playing with Kaner, but you get on the power play. There’s good ice time when you fill that niche." Anisimov has 13 goals and 19 points in 41 games this season. This "promotion" should give him a short-term fantasy boost.

With the Blackhawks out of the playoff picture, they'll likely move older assets on expiring contracts. Wingels is a depth player that can kill penalties and provide a contending team with some added experience. The 29-year-old has seven goals and 12 points in 54 games. He's scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.

Saad only had one assist during his 16-game goalless drought. He gave the Blackhawks a 2-0 lead at the time, but the Anaheim Ducks rallied to win the contest by a score of 3-2. Saad has 14 goals and 25 points in 58 matches this season.

Vinnie Hinostroza registered two assists in Chicago's 7-1 win against Washington on Saturday.

Hinostroza has six goals and 18 points in 28 contests this season. His strong play with Chicago has been one of the silver linings in what has been shaping up to be a disappointing season for the franchise. It also might be enough to land him a permanent role with the club.

Patrick Kane scored a goal and an assist in Wednesday's 3-2 shootout win over the Ottawa Senators.

Kane also scored on his shootout attempt, but it was Nick Schmaltz that eventually scored the game-winner in the seventh round. Kane opened the scoring at the 14:19 mark of the first period before setting up Artem Anisimov's go-ahead goal (2-1) in the second frame. He finished the game with a plus-1 rating, five shots on goal and one hit in 23:40 of ice time. The 29-year-old now has 23 goals and 57 points in 61 games this season. He's accumulated four points in his last three contests.

DeBrincat kept that run going with a goal in the Blackhawks' 7-1 win over Washington on Saturday. That was his third goal in the span of four games and pushed him to 22 markers this season. He's tied for second place with Yanni Gourde in the rookie goal scoring race. The only rookie with more markers is Brock Boeser (27).

Duclair's been scratched in three of Chicago's last four games and he understands why. "When you’re struggling as a team, you look at yourself individually. You ask yourself what you can do better to help the team. I don’t think I’ve been consistent enough, and that’s why my ice time has started diminishing. You have to really earn it." He has 11 goals and 20 points in 47 games with the 'Hawks and Coyotes.

Ryan Hartman will be a healthy scratch in Monday's game against the Arizona Coyotes.

Hartman is currently riding a 16-game goalless drought. The former first-rounder has now been scratched in two of his team's last five games. He has seven goals and 21 points in 50 games this season. Patrick Sharp and Michal Kempny will also watch the game from the press box.

The Chicago Blackhawks have placed Marian Hossa on the long-term injured list.

By going on LTIR, Hossa's $5.275 million doesn't count against the salary cap. The Blackhawks have already announced that Hossa will miss the entire 2017-18 season because of a skin disorder. The 38-year-old's career is likely over, but that hasn't been confirmed yet.

Duncan Keith scored a goal in Thursday's 3-2 loss to the Anaheim Ducks.

Keith's power play goal at the 1:45 mark of the second period gave the Blackhawks a 1-0 at the time. The goal was the veteran's first tally of the 2017-18 season. Keith finished the night with four shots on goal and three blocked shots in 26:58 of ice time. He has 26 points and a minus-13 rating in 58 games this season. Brandon Saad also found the back of the net in Thursday's loss.

Carl Dahlstrom picked up an assist with a plus-1 rating over 16:52 of ice time in Monday's 3-1 loss against the Kings.

Dahlstrom offered a helping hand on Patrick Sharp's even-strength marker early in the third period, but that's all the offense Chicago was able to muster. The rearguard also chipped in with a blocked shot and a hit. He remains useful only in the very deepest of fantasy pools at this juncture, although he should see regular playing time now that Michal Kempny has been shipped to the Capitals.

Gustafsson scored a goal and registered an assist while logging 20:55 minutes of ice time. Unfortunately, the Blackhawks had a terrible game overall, but Gustafsson finished with a plus-one rating despite the fact that Chicago lost 7-3 to the Islanders. He also has three goals and 17 points in 25 AHL contests this season.

Jordan Oesterle has three goals and two assists in the last five games.

Oesterle posted a goal and a plus-3 rating in 23:33 of ice time in Sunday's 4-1 win over Edmonton. He has played well on the top pairing alongside Duncan Keith and has earned the trust of coach Joel Quenneville.

The Blackhawks never trailed in this game, but it still took them seven shootout rounds to take down the Senators. Forsberg allowed two goals on Ottawa's seven attempts. The Blackhawks goalie has now won two of his last three games since dropping four straight decisions earlier this month. The win improves his record to 7-12-3 in 2017-18. He'll enter his next appearance with a 2.90 goals-against-average and a .910 save percentage.

Crawford hasn't been ruled out for the rest of the season, but Quenneville's tone with regards to the goaltender's outlook seems to have changed. Crawford hasn't been skating recently and with the Blackhawks essentially out of the playoff picture, it might be better just to give Crawford all the rest he needs.